The invention relates to a cyclonic separation device for a vacuum cleaner. More particularly, it relates to a cyclonic separation attachment to be placed on the inlet pipe between the vacuum nozzle and the handle of the inlet pipe to increase the dirt separation and collection of a vacuum cleaner having a rigid inlet pipe.
Cyclonic separating devices for vacuum cleaners have been known for some time. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,195,835 to Samsung Kwangju Electronics discloses a vacuum cleaner having a cyclone dust collecting device. Here, the cyclone dust collecting device includes a dirt separating cyclonic chamber with a shroud extending into the chamber having a plurality of holes of a size to prevent the dirt of a predetermined particle size from flowing into the air outlet.
Another example of a cyclonic separation device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,950,274 to Aktiengesellschaft Electrolux. The cyclonic separator includes a separation chamber having an upper cylindrical portion and a lower inverted truncated cone which defines a whirl chamber. Dirty air enters the interior of the cylindrical portion and travels down the truncated conical portion before exiting the top. The upside down truncated cone has a lower opening for dirt particles to fall through to be collected in the dirt collecting chamber below.
While the use of either cyclonic separators provides its own advantage, considerations related to the configuration of the vacuum cleaner as a whole may also affect the viability of the design. As the size of the vacuum cleaners becomes smaller and more compact, it becomes increasingly difficult to prevent the air flow from progressing down the inside of the separation chamber from disturbing the dirt collected in the dirt collecting container. This appears to be the reason why the collection chamber in both of the devices described above are relatively elongated. The extended collection chamber enables the air flow to disperse naturally and return to the exhaust without significant re-entrainment. Further, the separation chamber must be removable to allow it to be emptied, cleaned or replaced for the ease of use.
Thus, while these designs represent an improvement in separation of conventional vacuums utilizing bag technology, it remains desirable to provide continued improvements and alternative designs to improve the separation of dirt particles from air in an air separation attachment for a vacuum cleaner.